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New ‘Man of Steel’ poster puts Superman in chains

Click to view full size (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)Superman is under arrest!

In anticipation of tomorrow's home video release of "The Dark Knight Rises," the new poster for next summer's highly anticipated "Man of Steel" has been unveiled, revealing a Superman (Henry Cavill) in handcuffs as several military-types stoically escort him to some unknown destination.

Details on the plot of Warner Bros.' (latest) attempt to reboot one of their most lucrative franchises have been kept under wraps, though this new image looks like it reveals at least one major conflict in the new adventures of the Last Son of Krypton. The poster seems to indicate that he'll be taking the fall for some sort of crime, one for which he may or may not be directly responsible. Superman looks to be standing tall, which would indicate he hasn't been weakened by Kryptonite. So has the Big Blue Boy Scout willingly turned himself in to the authorities?

(Our guess is that he's either framed for some horrible act or opts to take the fall for it, "Dark Knight" style. Superheroes find themselves in both scenarios rather often, after all.)

The final flourish keeps the poster in sync with Zack Snyder's seemingly art-film aspirations for the project that were revealed in the Terrence Malick-esque teaser trailer, as the prisoner is backlit by fractured, Janusz Kaminiski-like illumination coming from a doorway.

It's a grim image, though not an unexpected one, as we've known for some time that "Man of Steel" would be taking a (sigh) "darker" approach to the story of Superman, emphasizing the "stranger in a strange land" elements of what is essentially the tale of an alien who takes on the seemingly insurmountable task of protecting a world that's not his own. Kal-el's sense of isolation from the people of Earth is really being explored here, as well as our knack for attempting to destroy (or at least incarcerate) things we don't understand.

We like it. Though we'd also like it if the next poster features Superman punching something ... or someone, like General Zod (Michael Shannon). Let's not forget the fun in all this, Mr. Snyder.